14% of Ann Arbor’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park

Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 93 miles of mapped trail cross Ann Arbor, 3.3 per square mile of land. 14% of Ann Arbor’s land is conserved, about 2,502 acres.

Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #11 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Conserved land

14%

2,502 acres · of 28.4 sq mi of land

Trails

93 mi

3.3 per sq mi of land

Park land

2,868 ac

24 acres per 1,000 residents

Near a park

99%+

of residents within ½ mile

Bike routes

117 mi

59 mi lanes · 52 mi paths

Lakes & rivers

9 boat launches

What kind of outdoors town is Ann Arbor?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild14% of the land is conserved; a typical Michigan town, 5%.A trail town3.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 98% of U.S. towns.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.

Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Ann Arbor have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ann Arbor is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #11 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A⁺

OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ann Arbor’s overall grade.

Conserved land14% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%A⁻Trails3.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (93 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A⁺Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,868 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13B⁺Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%A⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%

LessMore

Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)#11 of 701

Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Ann Arbor ranks #16 on Outdoors.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.

PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →

The map

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.

Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US

Places to walk

Pick a walk

The longest trail network is Nichols Arboretum, with 8.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Nichols Arboretum

Managed by University of Michigan

139 acres8.7 mi of trail

Laurel Ridge Trail

Dog rules not recorded

Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Nelson Meade County Farm Park

Managed by Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission

117 acres5 mi of trail

Fitness Trail (1.4 Miles)Outer Loop (Blue Trail)Nature TrailInner Loop (Yellow Trail)+1

Dogs on leash

Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗